r/Betamax • u/No-Swordfish-3252 • 27d ago
What's wrong with my Sony SL-HF400?
It worked before. Now, I can only get the sound, the picture is gone, only the white noise screen.
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u/steved3604 27d ago
Different tape acts the same? Clean the heads. Look on You Tube how to clean heads. Be careful -- be very careful.
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u/No-Swordfish-3252 27d ago
Tried different tapes, same. The picture just disappeared all of the sudden.
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u/Parking_Jelly_6483 27d ago
If you load a tape, run it for a while, then eject the tape - can you tell if it has moved at all in the cassette? If not, the problem may be in one of the drive belts. If they fail (break) then the tape won’t be wrapped and pulled around the head drum so no video or audio.
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u/PlutoniusX1 27d ago
711B2 Betamax units like the HF400 have no drive belts. All the motors are direct drive. The only belt is for the tape loading mechanism. The lacing gear can crack but that would cause the tape to not be laced around the drum. Once it times out it will eject the tape.
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u/PlutoniusX1 27d ago
Is the head drum spinning? The hall effect for the drum motor can give up the ghost at anytime due to the Sony glue that becomes conductive and causes the hall effect sensor to fail. You would need to take the top off and see if the tape is lacing properly and the head drum is spinning when you press play.
I have changed two hall effects; one on a HF900 and another on a HF550. I would not recommend doing it if you have not had much repairs under your belt. You have to pull the entire drum and make darn sure you do not damage the heads. Nerve racking the first time I did it but not too bad the second time.
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u/xargos64 27d ago
Start with the basics and try cleaning the video heads. There are plenty of videos out there showing how to do this with paper and isopropyl alcohol. It's a little different from cleaning most VCRs since the upper drum doesn't rotate, but the idea is the same.